


love is like a brick

by BadLiar



Category: Nancy Drew (Video Games)
Genre: Depression, F/M, Sad Girl Hour
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-11
Updated: 2018-08-11
Packaged: 2019-06-25 15:59:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15644100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BadLiar/pseuds/BadLiar
Summary: Elisabet returns to Skipbrot after her relationship with Magnus ends for the final time. Dark places fill her mind as she finally attempts to overcome the loss of her relationship.





	love is like a brick

**Author's Note:**

  * For [A_Strange_Vessel](https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_Strange_Vessel/gifts).



Elisabet kicked off her shoes and replaced them with slippers as she quickly entered her home, slamming the door shut behind her. It was an unconscious, split-second decision, yet it said everything she couldn’t vocalize.

She sighed and flopped into a chair, pulling a blanket across herself to keep warm. It was frigid, more so than usual. Maybe that was an unconscious thing as well.

Her head rolled onto the arm of the chair - as uncomfortable as the position was, it made her feel warmer. In that moment, she wished for Magnus. It had been four years since...well, _that_  happened. She had mourned, continued working in the town to distract herself, got a therapist - multiple therapists, in fact, each one replaced when they outlived their usefulness. The newest one, Ragna, was proving herself to be the, well, not quite the best, but good enough. Elisabet could recall Ragna’s newest activity for her - a tried and true formula, the therapist had explained, for overcoming all the thoughts she couldn’t speak.

“Why don’t we try writing a letter to Magnus?” Ragna asked, handing over a piece of paper and a pencil to Elisabet. Elisabet had stared at the paper for the rest of the session.

Annoyed by the recalled memory, she flung the blanket off of herself and stood up, determined to...do what? She could have mocked herself. There was truly nothing she could do, with work, the one place she could find peace, closed.

Gunnar could always be a someone to talk to. But he’s enjoying his alone time with Hulda. _He probably doesn’t want someone like me interrupting a happy time_ , she thought to herself.

She could visit the visitor’s centre, something she used to enjoy doing, all those years ago. Yet thoughts of Soren axed their way into her thoughts at the mere thought of going to the centre. She felt guilty, about him, sometimes more so than she did about Magnus. It had been years, yet she wondered if she could have done something differently, all those years ago.

Elisabet took a deep breath. Her exhale was marked by the exiting vapours from her mouth, highlighted by the cold in the room. She muttered to herself that she should get the place heated up before Gunnar arrives with Hulda.

She sat by the unlit fireplace, a hulking beast of a structure that didn’t quite fit into the modern style she was going for when designing the room, but it served her well, much better than the perpetually broken heating system. She began building the fire and then lit it, bringing warmth and additional lighting into the room. She stood up, proud of accomplishing something.

Her eyes glanced over the mantle at the numerous pictures. One caught her eye. It was her and Hulda, several years ago. It wasn’t quite the picture itself that she wanted to see, although she picked it up and admired the photography anyway. It brought back good memories, some of her happiest. She flipped the frame over and opened the back compartment to find several letters from Magnus, the first written two years ago. She didn’t need to read it - she had read them so often she could recite them as if they were Shakespearean. The letters had ceased a year ago, as if Magnus had realized that her lack of response meant something.

As she recalled, the year he sent those letters were the start of her depression. They had brought up so much pain that she thought she had recovered from, pain that had yet to falter. It was around that time Gunnar had begun volunteering to take Hulda, perhaps realizing Elisabet’s sorry state.

Her heart filled with atavistic dread, she recalled how the pain ran in her family, all beginning with the death of true love. She mulled it over, wondering if comparing a divorce to a deceased loved one was in poor taste.

A knock came at the door. Had it been so long that Gunnar had returned? She tucked the letters back into their hiding spot and quickly moved to the door, smoothing her hair so as to look presentable. Opening the door, she found Gunnar and Hulda, the latter jumping up and down.

“Hi, Mamma!” she said as she suddenly rushed forward, giving her mother a hug.

Gunnar gave a smile. “Well, I must be off. Hope all is well!” he said curtly, turning as he said it.

Elisabet didn’t have time to question Gunnar about perhaps staying for dinner as she followed Hulda inside. The young girl, just four years old, grabbed her crayons and a sheet of paper and began drawing. Elisabet took a seat nearby, smiling at her beautiful daughter.

Her mind wandered back to Ragna’s activity. Slowly, she picked up the paper and moved it to a nearby table, pulling out a pen.

She scribbled a small note. _Baby steps_ , she thought to herself as she mulled over what she had written.

_She has your eyes._

**Author's Note:**

> Title inspired by the Lady Gaga song "Judas."
> 
> Hope you enjoy it! <3


End file.
